Netanyahu, Israeli primer minister, wants to resume negotiations with Palestine

United States, September 25, 2011

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, accused the Palestinians of seeking the creation of their state without offering peace to Israel. He also urged to resume negotiations including the recognition of the Jewish state. 

“The Palestinians want a state, but instead they’ll have to give us peace. What they’re trying to do at the United Nations is to achieve a state without giving Israel the peace and security, and I think that’s wrong” said Netanyahu in statements to the NBC.

In this sense, said he sees no will in the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, to resume peace talks in New York.

The statements came the day after Abbas requested at the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Palestine’s access to the body, although the U.S. threatened them with their vote against it.

“If you want to achieve peace, you should put aside all your preconditions, and sit at the negotiating table” is what Netanyahu said over the body. When asked about the stalemate in the dialogue, suspended a year ago after Netanyahu’s refusal to extend the moratorium on Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, Netanyahu argued that the Palestinians are the ones that should be blamed for failing to respond with reciprocity.

“I think the Palestinians are trying to avoid negotiations, trying to get a state to continue the conflict with Israel, instead of ending it. Basically they are trying to avoid peace negotiations, going to the UN for an automatic majority in the UN General Assembly to give them a state” said the Israeli President.

On his return to Israel, Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet, with the chief ministers of the executive to respond to the U.S., Russia, UN and EU proposal that struggles to return to peace negotiations.

The proposal provides that in a month should be a preparatory meeting between the parties to set the agenda and method of negotiation to reach an agreement in December 2012.